I made a pact with myself to not spend any money on lunch this week and to make my own. So far so good!

After an eventful weekend, I checked my recent transactions in my checking account and realized how much money I spent just on food alone. I went to Wakame Sushi on Friday night and Target Field on Saturday, and I spent almost $80 just on food.

Sometimes you just gotta splurge, but to make up for it I made a pact to pack my lunch every day this week, and realized how beneficial both money-wise and health-wise this is.

According to ABCNews, the average working person spends around $37 per week, or $2,000 per year on lunch alone..."The average amount working Americans spend on coffee and lunch is more than the average tax refund they will receive." $5 here...$10 there...doesn't seem like much at the time, but when you start making it a habit, the amount really adds up, and so do the calories. Consider this lunch recipe I found from EatingWell.com.

Nutrition

Versus...

BLT Sandwich at Bruegger's Bagels - 720 Calories and 42 grams of fat. (Ok, I know there is bacon on this, but 32 grams of fat is still a LOT!)

With the price you pay for one sandwich at a place like Bruegger's, you can buy the makings for a low-calorie, healthy sandwich to eat every day for a week, and save 351 calories and 38 grams of fat.

I know, I know...you're busy and sometimes it is easier to worry about lunch when it's lunchtime, but if you start making a habit of making your lunch the night before, it will become part of your routine and you'll be saving money and losing weight!